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Sanders confirms Steelers are negotiating contract extension

Even when he's trying to not talk about his contract situation, the receiver finds himself talking about his contract situation; but only to say he is not worried about his contract situation.

Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders is different than most NFL players.

Apparently, he's not worried about a contract while playing on a one-year deal.

Speaking on 93-7 The Fan Wednesday, Sanders admitted ...At the end of the day, I'm telling you that I'm honest when I say I'm not worried about a contract. The contracts will come."

Rookie Hawthorne on crutches at OTAs

Steelers fifth round rookie Terry Hawthorne was on crutches Wednesday with a knee injury
He also said the discussion of those contracts is underway. To what extent, he didn't mention, but it's not rare the team would discuss and negotiate extensions through training camp. The team has inked inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons, outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley and safety Troy Polamalu to extensions during training camp in the past - Polamalu signed his most recent extension the day before the 2011 season began.

It's possible the Steelers could ink Sanders to a cap-friendly multi-year extension before the season starts. He really doesn't have much leverage due to a lack of production in comparison with the larger contracts signed recently at his position. He can't hold a candle to the production of Antonio Brown, the leading Steelers receiver over the last two years, for example.

Sanders' profile certainly got a boost this offseason when the Patriots offered him a one-year deal in restricted free agency worth $2.5 million. The Steelers matched that deal, essentially giving Sanders a raise on his $1.3 million one-year RFA tender. How much value he has long-term is a different story, though. It seems more likely he'll be asked to perform for 16 games before a significant contract will be negotiated.

Sanders will be a free agent in 2014, if no long-term deal with the Steelers is made.

...Also add that Terry Hawthorne is on crutches at OTAs...just great...

Realistically, I don't see him signing. I wouldn't. Right now, you get a high #3 WR or low #2 offer. If I'm him, I play, plan to beat out the rook and earn more $$. You wouldn't sign 5 years $15 mil, when you think you could get 5 years $30 mil

Realistically, I don't see him signing. I wouldn't. Right now, you get a high #3 WR or low #2 offer. If I'm him, I play, plan to beat out the rook and earn more $$. You wouldn't sign 5 years $15 mil, when you think you could get 5 years $30 mil

Am sure that is what Sanders is mulling over in his head. It comes down to how much you believe in yourself and what you think you can achieve in the season. With little competition, Sanders may light it up. OTOH, if MW finds his game early, Sander's opportunities will be less. Of more significance is his statement, "At the end of the day, I'm telling you that I'm honest when I say I'm not worried about a contract. The contracts will come." Tells me Sanders really believes he will get his chance to shine this season.

I personally question whether Sanders can stay healthy for 16 games. If not, that would drop him back to the first numbers you quote. The Steelers have themselves positioned pretty nicely right now and the offer may be nothing more than window dressing to show good faith. Bottomline, Sanders has had one decent season. Not a lot to bank on right now.

Sanders, a player who Steeler fans seem to irrationally love, has stats that are not much better than a player who Steeler fans seemed to irrationally hate, Cedrick Wilson. Both guys played in Pittsburgh for 3 season (14 starts for Wilson, 8 starts for Sanders). Wilson had 81 catches for 1162 yards and 2 TD's. Sanders has 94 catches for 1290 yards and 5 TD's. Sanders' entire 3 year career doesn't stack up with Mike Wallace's 2nd season in Pittsburgh, with 60 catches for 1257 yards and 10 TD's, and yet most Steeler fans were delighted to let Wallace walk out the door. Sanders has potential, but so does Markus Wheaton, and we can still have Wheaton on an inexpensive deal for several years.

Sanders, a player who Steeler fans seem to irrationally love, has stats that are not much better than a player who Steeler fans seemed to irrationally hate, Cedrick Wilson. Both guys played in Pittsburgh for 3 season (14 starts for Wilson, 8 starts for Sanders). Wilson had 81 catches for 1162 yards and 2 TD's. Sanders has 94 catches for 1290 yards and 5 TD's. Sanders' entire 3 year career doesn't stack up with Mike Wallace's 2nd season in Pittsburgh, with 60 catches for 1257 yards and 10 TD's, and yet most Steeler fans were delighted to let Wallace walk out the door. Sanders has potential, but so does Markus Wheaton, and we can still have Wheaton on an inexpensive deal for several years.

I never had a problem with Cedrick...I thought he did what was asked of him...

He and Sanders, IMO, work(ed) hard and used their abilities to the fullest...Mike was reviled because he had all the ability in the world but did not always give 100% effort in the fans' eyes...

Sanders, a player who Steeler fans seem to irrationally love, has stats that are not much better than a player who Steeler fans seemed to irrationally hate, Cedrick Wilson. Both guys played in Pittsburgh for 3 season (14 starts for Wilson, 8 starts for Sanders). Wilson had 81 catches for 1162 yards and 2 TD's. Sanders has 94 catches for 1290 yards and 5 TD's. Sanders' entire 3 year career doesn't stack up with Mike Wallace's 2nd season in Pittsburgh, with 60 catches for 1257 yards and 10 TD's, and yet most Steeler fans were delighted to let Wallace walk out the door. Sanders has potential, but so does Markus Wheaton, and we can still have Wheaton on an inexpensive deal for several years.

Not sure it's fair to compare Sanders vs Start Stop's stats. Sanders had some unfortunate foot problems to start his career. Then the lockout where I dont think he got the treatment to get right. Plus Ced was at the pinnacle of his career.

You have to remember how torturous it was watching Ced take a minute and a half to juke himself out of his own jock before he could get open. He had to be one of the worst WRs ever at getting separation. Manny on the other hand has shown flashes of brilliance. He's got some work to do of course. But he's way more talented than Ced.

I'd love to see the Steelers get a deal and extend Manny now. I still think he's got the most potential out of the 3 amigos. But if I were Manny, he has to see there's a potential for so much more money and he should just play it out.

Not sure it's fair to compare Sanders vs Start Stop's stats. Sanders had some unfortunate foot problems to start his career. Then the lockout where I dont think he got the treatment to get right. Plus Ced was at the pinnacle of his career.

You have to remember how torturous it was watching Ced take a minute and a half to juke himself out of his own jock before he could get open. He had to be one of the worst WRs ever at getting separation. Manny on the other hand has shown flashes of brilliance. He's got some work to do of course. But he's way more talented than Ced.

I'd love to see the Steelers get a deal and extend Manny now. I still think he's got the most potential out of the 3 amigos. But if I were Manny, he has to see there's a potential for so much more money and he should just play it out.

Plus it might not work out so bad because Browns a baller too.

But Manny has a lot of work to do if he wants to be an All-Pro at calling for pass interference after every pass thrown to him like Ced. Where's the flag, ref...where's the flag? C'mon, man...he was all over me!

Last week, Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk reported that the Steelers are currently in contract talks with wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.

Although both sides are having a discussion, Sanders’ agent (Josh Woy) said that his client and the franchise are unlikely to come to a deal this offseason. As Alper pointed out in his post, Woy said that it would take “a very good deal” for Pittsburgh’s brass to re-up their now-starting wide receiver at all. I certainly cannot blame Woy and Sanders for their present stance, especially because Manny will be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) when the 2013 season ends.

While I understand that Sanders figures to be an important piece of Pittsburgh’s offense this fall, I honestly hope that the Steelers are in no rush to re-sign him. In fact, I believe that the franchise would be better off if they do not offer a long-term deal to their wide receiver until the 2013 campaign ends.

As most of you know, the Steelers are still in a salary cap mess of sorts at the moment and could very well be in one for the next couple of years. Although Pittsburgh has been able to shed payroll over the last two offseason periods, their cap space will nevertheless be limited next spring as they continue to rebuild and retool their roster.

The limited cap space in turn will force Pittsburgh’s brass to make some extremely tough decisions with their younger players over the next few offseasons. If the Steelers are forced to let some of their younger players walk as UFAs, then I would hope that Colbert & Co. can find a way to sign center Maurkice Pouncey and cornerback Cortez Allen to long-term deals before they even attempt to extend Sanders.

Extending Pouncey needs little explanation, especially because he has played at a Pro Bowl-level during each of his first three professional seasons. He’s far and away Pittsburgh’s most talented offensive lineman, and his athleticism and ability to get to the second-level in the run-game are tremendous assets. If Pouncey is locked-up long-term, the move would most importantly solidify the interior of Pittsburgh’s young and developing offensive line.

As far as Allen is concerned, he is an integral piece in Pittsburgh’s rebuilding efforts in their defensive backfield. Not only will Allen be the team’s number two cornerback this fall, he could very well be thrust into the number one role once Ike Taylor retires or is released. The soon-to-be third year player from The Citadel improved last year by leaps and bounds, and definitely illustrated that he can be a productive player (55 tackles, 2 INTs, 10 PDs, 3 FFs and 1 FR) for the Steelers’ defense. There is little to no experienced depth behind Allen, unless one considers William Gay to be adequate depth, and the team has to question whether or not Curtis Brown, Josh Victorian, DeMarcus Van Dyke and Justin King can eventually start at the professional level.

Sanders on the other hand is entering the fourth-year of his career and is still more of a mystery than anything else. Although he set career-highs in receptions and receiving yards last season, he has still produced less (94 catches, 1,290 yards, 5 touchdowns, 40 games) than Nate Washington did during his first three full seasons in the league (104 catches, 1,705 yards, 12 touchdowns, 48 games). And while Manny will receive the chance to start in Mike Wallace’s place at the split end position this fall, his injury and fumbling issues could be long-term causes for concern.

In addition to questions surrounding his post-2013 productivity, the Steelers also made a concerted effort in the draft to bolster their wide receiving corps when they selected Markus Wheaton and Justin Brown. Along with Wheaton and Brown, Pittsburgh will also likely have the option of re-signing veteran Jerricho Cotchery (or even Plaxico Burress) once the 2013 season ends.

Although Cotchery is not as athletic as Sanders is, he is a savvy pass-catcher who can be signed at a fraction of the price of what Manny could make on the open market if he signs elsewhere. And hey, even if neither of the veterans are considered to be options past this year, the 2014 Draft will give the franchise another opportunity to upgrade their wide receiving corps if Sanders chooses to leave too.

As I alluded to before, I can definitely understand why Sanders and his agent are playing “hardball” right now and waiting on a lucrative contract extension. I mean, Mike Wallace played like garbage last year, put a garbage attitude on display for the N.F.L. to see, and he was still able to earn a deal worth $60 million from Miami back in March.

While Sanders is not as talented as Wallace, his ability to run routes well and make tough catches in traffic should garner him a good deal of interest on the free agent market if he can stay healthy once again this fall. Plus, the New England Patriots appeared all but ready to deal away a 3rd round pick for Sanders last spring, and Woy said that other teams were apparently interested in making a RFA-tender offer towards his client as well.

Despite the fact that extending/re-signing Sanders should be on Colbert & Co.’s “To Do List,” I simply believe that there are more pressing matters at hand for them to face if the wide receiver is unwilling to to lower his asking price (in terms of base salary) during the first couple of seasons of his long-term deal.

If Sanders truly wants to stay in Pittsburgh though, I just hope that he at least realizes that he will have to compete with other younger guys like Pouncey, Allen, Marcus Gilbert and possibly even Ziggy Hood or Jason Worilds for the few long-term contract extensions which Pittsburgh’s brass will dole out over the next couple of offseasons.

Colbert & Co. still have another couple of months to negotiate with Sanders, but if I was in their position I wouldn’t stress too much. If they are able to ink the wide receiver long-term, then I tip my cap to them for the move. But if they cannot come to an agreement with Sanders before the regular season begins and he eventually bolts next March, then that will simply be more money for the franchise to set aside for important re-building pieces like Pouncey and Allen.

What happens between Sanders and the Steelers will be an intriguing story-line to follow next spring if a deal is not reached over the next couple of months. For now though, I hope that the front office does not consider the wide receiver to be a “must-extend” priority over some other younger players on their roster.

But Manny has a lot of work to do if he wants to be an All-Pro at calling for pass interference after every pass thrown to him like Ced. Where's the flag, ref...where's the flag? C'mon, man...he was all over me!

LOL. Manny loves initiating contact, so I don't see him ever doing the PI dance. He might be the one WR we've had that seems to enjoy blocking as much as Ward did. I don't get to see many live games and you can't always know what WRs are doing on each play. But the last one I did, I was watching him for a couple series and he was relentless without the ball and even when the ball was going to the other side of the field. Most WRs don't go all out on every play like he does. That's what makes me hopeful about him.

But it's all potential at this point. We've got a lot of those types on our roster. I can't wait for the season to see if some of these guys pan out.

LOL. Manny loves initiating contact, so I don't see him ever doing the PI dance. He might be the one WR we've had that seems to enjoy blocking as much as Ward did. I don't get to see many live games and you can't always know what WRs are doing on each play. But the last one I did, I was watching him for a couple series and he was relentless without the ball and even when the ball was going to the other side of the field. Most WRs don't go all out on every play like he does. That's what makes me hopeful about him.

But it's all potential at this point. We've got a lot of those types on our roster. I can't wait for the season to see if some of these guys pan out.

Initiate contact? I guess he is the "anti-Mike Wallace" who avoided contact at all costs

Playing Fantasy Football does not qualify you to be the in the front office or on the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are professionals and you are not!